


Fun to Lose and to Pretend

by recrudescence



Category: Glee RPS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-22
Updated: 2010-06-22
Packaged: 2017-10-10 05:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/96257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recrudescence/pseuds/recrudescence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I can't believe you got her to believe Kurt was based on Kurt Cobain."</p><p>(Inspired by a prompt that called for an obliviously crushing Cory getting frustrated at an interviewer asking yet again to hear Chris's audition story.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fun to Lose and to Pretend

  
He has no problem with interviews. He has no problem with answering the same questions for different audiences. Glee has gotten much bigger than anyone expected, so it's still kind of surprising this is even an issue.

What Cory has problems with are interviewers who spew out their bullet points like broken records and vapidly nod along with whatever they get in return. It's kind of disrespectful. Everyone on the cast works really long hours just to give these people anything worth an interview at all. He knows a thing or two about stress and he also knows it doesn't take a whole hell of a lot of effort to at least pretend to be engaged in a conversation with someone.

It's not like he's a diva. He's not about to start setting fires in his shared trailer or refusing to work until someone fetches the right brand of mineral water, but it frizzes his nerves to make nice with someone who's doing a blatantly half-assed job.

And so the drumroll begins, in the form of a faux-tanned microphone-wielder with a faux-enthusiastic query: "Tell us a little bit about what it was like to audition."

Cory cringes. Not again. The matter of Ryan meeting Chris and writing Kurt's role specifically for him has already been touched on and, apparently, forgotten. They've been talking for a grand total of maybe fifteen minutes. Cory's patience is already wearing so thin that he can't resist.

"He sang a Nirvana song," he replies, before Chris has even had a chance to open his mouth.

Chris. Perched there in his royal blue sweater, looking at him like he's lost his damn mind. He loves doing appearances with Chris, who's adorable as can be but maybe a little too nice for his own good. And that's saying something, when _Cory_ has to step up and be the bad cop.

The interviewer chuckles affectedly. "Really!" _That_ throws Cory for a loop. He'd honestly expected her to catch her own mistake and move on. For a moment, he thinks maybe she's joking right back at him, but no, that chalk-white grin doesn't falter. Now he kind of wants to tell her the word gullible is written on the ceiling. Maybe playing a high school kid has gone to his head.

He doesn't actually say that. But he doesn't actually _stop_ yanking her chain either. "Yeah, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.' And Ryan was just sold on the spot. That's why the character's name is Kurt. And his character's dad's a mechanic, since Kurt Cobain's was, too."

"Jerk." Chris pokes him—a swift jab to the ribs that makes Cory choke back an undignified snort of laughter— looking a little bewildered but still smiling.

The interviewer, on the other hand, is glancing between the two of them with uncertain eyes, fixed grin a tad less fixed than before. "That's not how it actually happened, then?"

"Actually," Chris is correcting, serenely doing damage control before Cory can say anything else, "it's a reference to _The Sound of Music_."

"Just, if you're gonna ask, do a little homework beforehand, y'know?" Cory says it casually, smiling and good-natured and harmless to the outside eye, even though he's still irritated and Chris is discreetly elbowing him in what might very well be Morse code for STFU. "I feel like he's told his audition story a billion times."

"Nirvana was a little before my time," Chris admits, looking apologetic and making Cory feel old. He does manage a few bars of the song when prompted and there's something a little strange, but not unpleasant, about hearing "here we are now, entertain us" in his sweet voice.

It's a good description for so many things regarding Chris. Strange, but not unpleasant. Sweet. Cory fidgets in his seat and tries not to be too obvious about it.

Their time slot cannot finish fast enough.

"I'm sorry if I bore you by telling people what they want to hear. I could just complain about it like you did. Is that the more professional response?" They've barely stepped into the elevator when Chris asks it, sounding a little sharp and a little hurt, and now Cory really does feel like an asshole. Chris is relatively new to the business and maybe he's still kind of overprotective of him, but Cory suspects he won't be winning himself any gratitude by saying so just now.

"It's not you, it's them." He could kick himself for letting himself phrase it like that. "I mean, everyone knows about your audition. It's just sloppy interviewing at this point, you know?"

"So you, what, felt obligated to come to my defense and save me from another ghastly retelling?"

"Gotta stand up for yourself sometime, that's all." The corners of Chris's mouth turn up slightly when Cory adds, "You're not _ghastly_," putting on his best Simon Cowell accent for the last word.

They step outside in silence, and Cory's on the verge of mentioning making a coffee run before they have to leave, but then Chris looks up at him with quirked brows. "I can't believe you got her to believe Kurt was based on Kurt Cobain."

"Oh, trust me, man, neither can I."

"What are the odds that gets mentioned in an episode? I say we pitch it."

"I think Kurt could pull off the '90s grunge thing. Only if he had a bet with someone about being able to go without doing his hair that long, though. You just have to let it...sit there. I did that whole thing when I was, like, twelve." _Twelve_, which was Chris's age just eight years ago. Eight, which is the number of years between the two of them. Shit. When did he get so ancient? "Anyway, maybe I've got some real, live _antique_ skater shirts lying around that'd fit you. Even though they're from before your time."

And now Chris is laughing softly and fiddling with his BlackBerry and Cory is picturing Chris with shredded jeans and shaggy hair, which isn't as unappealing as he'd thought. Kind of cute. But Chris always looks cute. That's a weird thought to be having, but Cory brushes it aside.

Overprotective. He's got to quit that. "You want coffee?"


End file.
